Dear Scoop, It’s worth talking about again. The outrageous pricing of cleaning help (and day labor) in Lakewood. Did you know, that in other townships people are working ON the books for $10 an hour? Do you realize that unskilled, undocumented laborers standing in the Employment Service Area in Lakewood are taking home more money than American seminary girls working in offices? This is ridiculous.
I am writing to let you know that I just secured English speaking (legal) cleaning help in Lakewood for myself and a few families. A simple ad on Craigs list can go a long way… It’s costing $10 an hour. And by the way, there are still a few hours we need to book. If you’re in Westgate you can text (347) 989-4367.
It would be great if someone could make a cleaning help referral business in town and require some state issued license or ID, as well as find English speakers and negotiate a fair hourly wage for the workers. It CAN be done! And it should be done! But until someone does it I would like to just put this idea out there for people.
Forget all the grand plans of “Well we should all just agree to pay xyz….” Any sentence directed toward Lakewood that addresses a communal issue with “we should all” has very little chance of succeeding unless you have a major movement with Daas Torah behind it. (We should all agree with that right! 😉 )
But here is what any ONE person can do. You can put an ad on Craigslist.org looking for cleaning. State what you want done, how much you want to pay and post the ad.
Now, I can already here readers saying they are not uncomfortable doing that. Who knows who you’re getting right? To that I would say ‘Who knows who you are getting when you hire an undocumented worker just because someone else in the neighborhood did too?” Actually you are more likely to be able to get more info on someone you get off craigslist than a referral from ‘another frum person who uses her.’
When someone replies, you can ask for references although I would not trust them or even bother calling. What I WOULD do before letting someone work in my home is ask for photo id and/or take the drivers license number. You can also write up a simple form stating that this person allows you to do a criminal background check. It costs $70 and they are VERY thorough. You can do this through websites like mysmartmove.com.
Your ad can even state that if you are interested in an applicant you will ask them to do any or all of the things mentioned above. So they know what you want, you know what you are getting when a reply comes in (hopefully they’ll read your ad thoroughly enough), and you can have a hand around the house.
Don’t like the person- put out a new ad. End of story. It is time to increase the supply and keep the prices for household help at a normal level. Lakewood has been getting taken advantage of in a big way.
Ps- I told my neighbor I was looking to fill hours, and that the worker would take 10. He replied that is what he pays his household help, and that it is a big avala to pay more. So I hope readers out there will realize that we have a lot of buying power, we just need to be proactive in keeping the market in our favor.
Did you know that according to IRS rules you are required to pay on a W2 and do withholdings?
That’s what I do with other work too. I am not sure why we are manipulated by the locals that just charge more because of demand.. If there is supply then demand cannot charge as much.
Stop telling people what to pay. If i need something i will pay more. If you are too lazy to clean your own house don’t tell me what i have to pay. This is no different with any other industry. if the demand is high then prices will go up. Its like telling me i cannot pay a lot for my house because you don’t want to pay so much for the a similar house next store. If the extra $3 an hour is such a big deal for you than you probably shouldn’t be paying someone to do your job for you, and clean your own house.
Naa wouldn’t do it. The reason why cleaning ladies do what they do is because they can’t secure better jobs because they don’t speak English! Ppl that speak English and are willing to clean toilets for a living raise alarm bells. To spend about $70 to do a background check is ridiculous because you have no guarantee that you’ll keep them long.
That’s a great idea!
People willing to clean toilets for $10 an hour raises alarm bells, why? They otherwise would be getting the same $10 on the books for stocking shelves in Walmart.
To #1 I believe unless you are paying more than $600, you do not have to take deductions – otherwise baby sitters would have the same problem.
everything in Lakewood costs more. Just look art the prices of the Exxon gas station when you enter Lakewood. The gas prices there are 30 cents a gallon more than the Exxon stations just 3 miles away on Rt. 9
I have a better idea for you how about u stop complaining and go clean your own house its that simple if ur not willing to pay . You think its easy to say because you dont clean at all , how about you clean toilets for $10? How does that sound . Many of these women break there backs cleaning houses , it wouldnt be worth it for them to get paid $10 .
my cleaning lady doesnt speak english. we google translate thru texting. she’s been making noises about getting paid $15 from $12 that she is getting now. She showed me a text from before pesach, someone said please come clean my house 4 hours today i pay you $15. I told her I’m sorry, i cant. Go, do what’s good for you and get $15.
Minimum pay in Walmart is 11 bucks an hour
It seems that the new $12 became $15. It might have to do with the minimum wage. Stop complaining! The work these unfortunate immigrants are compelled to do, is very difficult work.
Father, I totally agree with you, and that’s not פשוט.
Attn Lazy, not sure what your point is.
The letter writer is saying we should increase the supply, so the market price will go down..
People work very hard to earn money to pay their bills, they don’t have the time or strength to clean the house themselves. I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to call them lazy…
Just had our cleaning lady who was working for the past 6 years (and getting 12 at this point because of her reliability and amount of time on the job) tell us that she can’t work anymore because her doctor said she needs to stop. Turns out someone else offered her more. This idea sounds very good with the caveat that to get someone reliable you likely will have to give at least 40 hours a week (between you and your neighbors.)
Yes it raises alarm bells. That’s exactly my point! I don’t want the crack head stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart in my home. Id rather have the cleaning lady who speaks limited English but hard working mom who helps support her family at home.
Hey my lady did the same thing- told us her dr won’t let work- wonder if it’s same woman. Does her name start with p?
Since my lady abandoned us I’ve been scrounging and paying whatever they ask and just happy we can get our house cleaned.
To the person who refers to “lazy”, the most important expense a Jewish woman can invest in is cleaning help so she can be a calm relaxed mother.
Lazy – I challenge you to find me a Lakewood mother who sits on her couch, ever. We don’t have TVs – partly b/c a Jewish adult doesn’t have time for sitting around.
To Reader : although I’m not an accountant I am 99.999% sure you are mistaken. They are not your employee, working only for you. They are contract laborers who work for many different people throughout the day and each day. You would only need to provide them with a 1099 at years end with the total paid.
Where r u doing ur backgroynd checks ? Go to or call tenantsafe.com, owned by a choshuve, local family, they do criminal checks for, like, $7. I use them to screen tenants, I get a credit check, eviction check and criminal check for $22 Total !!
In Israel, I am paying 50 shekel an hour for cleaning help. That’s $14.20 according to today’s rate. And the minimum wage is much less here. That’s just how it is.
Sorry to disappoint you but your 10 dollars an hour help won’t last a month. Also stocking shelves at Walmart is not the same as cleaning a house. I know you think you came up with a great idea but you will see… there is a reason why certain people don’t take certain jobs but you will see for yourself. Also a cleaning company will come to your house once a week charge you over 200 dollars for three hours. I never saw an American who woulddo cleaning charging by the hour. I’ve only seen that in Lakewood. Good luck but it won’t work
My opinion: ppl would rather pay $3 more than go through the hassle. Word of mouth may actually be a whole lot easier than the whole advertising and background check thing.
I just followed this letter writers advice and had seven different people scheduled to come for interviews from my Craig’s list ad. They all speak English and sound eager to work. Thank you for taking the time to post.
The hourly wage is justified for somebody competent,reliable and has basic English communication skills.
Sadly i still didn’t find anyone that has all 3!
A few years ago I was paying $12 hour for a cleaning lady. Times have changed and now a few years later I am paying $15. I have her once a week for 4 hours.
If you have a good reliable cleaning lady who charges $15 an hour, keep her. I personally wouldn’t do the work they do for someone else for less than that. (I do my own cleaning because I can’t afford cleaning help and B”H am capable of doing my own cleaning). If they do good work they deserve that much. If they don’t do good work, get someone else.
Keep in mind that to do this the legal way you also need to get Worker’s Comp insurance at an annual cost of a few thousand dollars and then if they get hurt on the job they can sue you. So not sure if over time the $3 saved will really be money earned.
I like this idea! It’s not like the 12 or 15 an hour ladies are so great or even reliable. They slooowly clean the house, not thorough, skip here and there, leave after 3 months. It takes a lot of siyata dishmaya to find someone that stays and even then a lot of ignoring the substandard cleaning because at least you found someone.
Another great idea is to go to care.com. There you see the people offering to work and a picture of them so at least you have some info. They also have references where they worked before.
How about we stop the negative, insulting talk between each other, appreciate the fact that someone took the time to share an idea. If it works for you- great! And if it doesn’t MOVE ON! Be an adult and say no thanks! A little Tolerance of differing opinions would go a long way!
“Lazy”
Change your name to selfish or self centered. There are many overworked mothers of large families in our town.They deserve as much help as they can get. By you hiring someone above the market price in order to get more hours, your hurt these struggling heroic women. You are missing some basic Jewish values (if you are indeed Jewish).
Our lady who worked for us for a year at $10 an hour left us abruptly before Pesach saying someone had offered her $12 an hour. We thankfully found someone else a few days later for $11 an hour. Now our original lady has been calling us pleading that we should take her back at the same $10 an hour rate. A neighbor of ours had a similar experience as well. It seems that these women are learning a hard lesson. If you have a steady job with people you are happy working for, it doesn’t pay to jeopardize you job by going elsewhere for the short term. Many people offer a lot before the holiday only to quickly terminate their worker the day after.
Simple jew. Perfectly expressed. For us all.
Simple Jew!
You missed my point, and you must be a lazy reader! It is the epitome of irresponsibility to spend money you do not have. So, even if these women are struggling they should not be paying a cleaning lady. There is a reason so many people are in debt in Lakewood because everyone lives way above their means. And yes, cleaning help is above the means of any one who is in debt.
And the point was that I will pay how ever much I want if it is something I feel I need.
To lazy. Stop judging others. For such a sanctimonious clown you profess to know everyone else’s life when in actuality you know nothing. Now ftr, if you have money and pay more thereby hiking up the price for all of those who don’t have the extra cash and are otherwise tight, everyone besides you with your lack of self awareness would agree that your a inconsiderate selfish person who cares only about themselves and lives in a bubble. Just saying.
And I’m sure you also agree with the pharmaceutical execs who charge exorbitant prices because people will pay. I actually wonder if your Jewish, because your outlook is so devoid of any Jewish values, it’s sickening. Or as KY wife said after reading your post, what’s wrong with this person.
My cleaning lady slipped on Yom Tov and got badly bruised. She slipped on the floor she had just washed, so this was not my fault at all, but she still asked us to pay for her taxi to the hospital and lost wages for not being able to work the next 2 days. I paid her taxi because I wanted to be a mentch, but refused to compensate for lost wages, which she accepted. Not much she could have done about it anyways. Am pretty sure that if this was a regular American woman recruited on Craiglist, I would be in a deep mess right now, being sued, in trouble for not having worker’s comp, perhaps for not having declared an employee etc. I think you should think before hiring someone on Craiglist for cleaning your home..